


Melt

by clarkes_murphy



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 15:09:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10947072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarkes_murphy/pseuds/clarkes_murphy
Summary: “Anya?”“Hmm?”“You hate strawberry.”“What?”“You hate anything strawberry flavoured.”“And?”“…You just ordered strawberry ice cream?”ORAU in which Anya and Echo reunite after not seeing each other for years, Anya is a flustered baby gay, and Echo is slightly taller but just as flustered and gay. And there's ice cream.





	Melt

“I’m just saying, Lex.”

“Clarke. We are not having this conversation again.”

Raven glances up from the menu she’s perusing. “Please tell me you’re not _still_ going on about this.”

“Lexa doesn’t believe me!”

“Because it’s obviously bullshit.”

“It’s not!”

Luna chuckles as she shuffles a little closer to Raven. “Babe, just leave them to it.”

“Look,” Clarke huffs, hands flat against the table, “I know you guys think I’m delusional.”

“No, we _know_ you’re delusional,” Lexa grumbles.

“But the evidence is right there!”

“Clarke, come on,” Raven laughs.

“It is pretty ridiculous,” Luna adds.

“You guys suck.”

“Aw, come on, babe,” Lexa smirks, leaning over to kiss Clarke's cheek.

“No! You don’t get to “babe” me right now.”

“Are you gonna sulk?”

“Yes,” Clarke pouts.

“If I buy you a waffle, will you forgive me?”

“No.”

“Then what d’you want?”

“I want you to believe me!”

“But Clarke, there’s no way—”

“Avril Lavigne is dead and has been replaced by a lookalike called Melissa. It’s undeniable, okay?!”

Luna snorts as Raven hides behind her menu, mirth evident in their eyes.

“Whatever. I believe it.”

They lapse into silence, Clarke glaring at her menu until Lexa begins peppering her face with kisses and she can’t help but smile.

“So, what are y’all getting today?”

“I really don’t know, Ray.”

“This is always such a life-altering decision for you, isn’t it?”

“There’s just so much to choose from!”

“Hey, has anyone heard from Anya?” Clarke interjects.

Both Luna and Raven shake their heads.

“Lex?”

“No, why?”

“She’s _your_ sister.”

“So?”

“I just figured you’d—hey, speak of the Devil.”

They all turn to follow Clarke's eyeline, waving after spotting Anya entering the ice cream bar they are currently sat in.

“Studying is going to be the death of me, I know it,” she groans, sliding into the booth next to Lexa and Clarke.

“Don’t even get me started.”

“If I even look at another equation today, my head’s gonna explode.”

“Glad it’s not just me,” Anya smiles, her dark blonde hair dappled by the sunlight that is pouring in through the large window they are sat by.

She snatches a menu from the centre of the table, eyes flitting between waffles and crepes and the exorbitant list of sundaes that are on offer – mountains of chocolate ice cream decorated with edible snowflakes, a pineapple and coconut concoction that is topped with a marshmallow snowman, a passionfruit surprise that is filled with popping candy and chunks of real passionfruit.

“Damn, I forgot how good this place is.”

“Just hurry up and choose something, I’m starving.”

Luna glances around for Roan, the gruff proprietor of the bar who usually serves them, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Instead, they are approached a minute later by a tall, slender woman with piercing eyes and taught lips, who stands with one hand on her hip after coming to a stop at the head of the table.

“Welcome to Ice Nation, what can I get for you today?” Her voice is raspy, lips pursed as one eyebrow quirks lazily above deep hazel eyes.

“You’re not Roan,” Clarke says, with a frown.

“Well spotted,” the waitress drawls.

A laugh escapes from between Lexa's lips, which is rewarded with a scowl from Clarke.

Raven looks down at her menu once more, before meeting the waitress’ eyes with a quick smile.

“I’ll have the Frosty Fruit Shake, please.”

The waitress jots this down with a brief nod, and the others soon follow with their requests:

Clarke: “A SnowCap Sundae for me.”

Luna: “Banana Blizzard.”

Lexa: “And I’ll just have two scoops of Kiwi Krunch, thanks.”

Then the only person left to order is Anya, who hasn’t said a word the whole time and is staring up at the waitress with what can only be described as pure shock stamped onto her face.

“An?” Lexa prods gently. “What’re you getting?”

But she just continues to stare, mouth open slightly. The waitress is busy adjusting a strap on her apron and hasn’t paid much attention to whatever is occurring, but then she looks back to table (lips poised to ask what is taking so long with the last order) and her eyes meet Anya's for the first time since she approached their table and her words evaporate in her throat.

Raven looks between the two, frowning a little. “Um… does anyone wanna tell us what the fuck is going on?”

The waitress cranes her head forward, eyes widening as she continues to look at Anya.

“Holy shit,” she breathes. “Anya?”

Anya's eyes look like they are about to pop out of her skull. “Echo?”

Stunned silence stretches between them, until:

“Anyone else getting really impatient here?”

“Clarke, oh my god.”

“What?! I want my food.”

“Just shut up, for a second.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“I can’t believe… I mean, what are you…” Anya shakes her head, blinking rapidly as if Echo just appeared in a puff of smoke.

Echo opens her mouth to reply, but then her name is being called from behind the counter, her fellow employee glaring at her and gesturing for her to hurry up.

“Oh, I—sorry, I have to…” Echo waves her hands in the vague direction of other customers.

“No, yeah, of course,” Anya says.

Echo turns to leave, but then spins on her heel, making Luna jump in her seat. “Wait, Anya?”

“Yes?”

“Your order?”

“Oh shit, right,” Anya blushes, fumbling with the menu. “I’ll, uh, I’ll have a scoop of Supreme Strawberry, please.”

“You got it.”

Echo hurriedly strides away, knocking into one of the other tables and muttering a string of curse words as she limps back to the serving station. Anya feels all eyes on her as she sinks down into her seat, keeping her own gaze glued to a sticky pink stain on the corner of her menu.

“Anya?”

“Hmm?”

“You hate strawberry.”

“What?”

“You hate anything strawberry flavoured.”

“And?”

“…You just ordered strawberry ice cream?”

Anya finally looks up, meeting Lexa's confused stare. “Yeah.”

Lexa glances at Clarke, seeing her own confusion reflected in Clarke's blue eyes.

“But what… what the fuck just happened?” Raven says.

“I think we’re missing something here,” says Luna, voice soft as she watches Anya wrap her arms around herself.

“An?” Lexa tries again.

Anya rubs at her temples, leaning into her hands. “It’s kind of a long story.”

“We’ve got time.”

* * *

 

After an awkward delivery of their food from Echo, (with the unwanted strawberry scoop quickly being claimed by Raven, and Lexa offering to share her dessert with her sister), Anya begins talking around small bites of kiwi ice cream.

She reveals that she and Echo used to work together, back when Anya was sixteen and had a part-time job in their local grocery store. Echo's father had owned the store and she would often help him out there, which led to her meeting Anya one afternoon while working on the register. They didn’t get on at first – Echo would try too hard to be the “boss”, ordering Anya around when her father wasn’t there, to which Anya would respond by purposefully doing things wrong to get Anya into trouble.

But then came a day when Anya walked in on Echo being yelled at by her father, for a mistake that Anya had made the day before. Anya saw the redness in Echo's eyes and the way her hands shook for the rest of the day while she re-stocked the shelves, and the guilt ate away at her until she couldn’t even look Echo in the eye.

From then on, Anya simply listened to what Echo told her to do and tried her hardest not to cause trouble, which seemed to shock Echo so much that she actually started being nice to Anya. This eventually led to a tentative truce between them, which then morphed into an actual friendship that involved sleepovers and trips to the beach and dance parties at 2am. And Anya began feeling things for Echo, things that were scary and unfamiliar but also electric and exciting. And she thought Echo felt the same way, from the way she’d hold her hand as they walked along the sand and how she’d smile at her a little longer than friends should.

But then Echo's father lost the business and they were forced to move somewhere more affordable, which ended up being a city far away from Anya's. Despite their promises to stay in touch and talk every day, Echo's replies became more sporadic, until one day she just stopped replying at all, and once Anya realised this and stopped trying to contact Echo, their relationship quickly dissolved.

Frequent phone calls and texts became occasional Facebook messages and Happy Birthday e-cards (all sent by Anya, never returned by Echo), and Anya had resigned herself to thinking that she’d never see Echo again.

Until now, of course.

* * *

 

“So, _that’s_ the girl you wouldn’t stop talking about when we were younger,” Lexa smirks.

“Shut up.”

“You guys should’ve seen her,” Lexa continues, addressing the others with a wry grin. “She was sooo whipped.”

“Was not.”

“Was too.”

“Incoming,” Raven mutters, eyes flitting to something on Anya's right.

Anya turns to find Echo standing beside her, a sheepish smile on her face.

“Hey.”

“Hi?”

“So, um, I know it’s been a while, and you might not even want to talk to me, or whatever, but I’d love to catch up? If you want.”

Anya gawks up at Echo.

“We could go to Bunker, that bar up the street, once my shift is over? Grab a drink?”

Lexa nudges Anya with her elbow.

“Oh, uh. Yes. Yeah, that sounds great,” Anya stammers, forcing a smile onto her face.

“Okay. I’ll meet you there at eight.”

“Cool.”

The others wait until Echo is out of earshot before crowding around Anya.

“Oh my god!”

“Anya, this is huge!”

“Look how red she is.”

“Are you excited?”

“She doesn’t seem too excited.”

“An, what’s up?”

“Guys, stop!” Anya stands abruptly, palms pressed flat on the table top. “Look. I love you all very much, and I’m very grateful to have you all here supporting me. But I just got asked to have a drink with the girl I pined over for far too long after not seeing her for about three years and I’m very overwhelmed and I think I need some time to process all of this.”

Lexa places a gentle hand over Anya's. “It’ll be okay.”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it,” Luna says, with a smile.

“I’ll meet you at home, ‘kay, Lex?”

“Sure.”

“She has to go home and get pretty for Echooooo,” Raven smirks.

“Fuck you, Raven,” Anya rolls her eyes, cheeks flushing at the mention of Echo's name.

“Believe me, I’ve tried,” Raven replies, with a wink.

Luna smacks Raven on the arm, Clarke collapses into a fit of giggles, and Lexa keeps her eyes on Anya, shooting her a kind smile and a wave as Anya heads away from their table. She keeps her eyes to the ground as she leaves, but is certain that she can feel Echo watching her as she walks to the door and out into the street.

* * *

 

Anya arrives at Bunker ten minutes early, scoping out a place to sit while she waits. Finding two empty stools by the bar, she perches on one, setting her coat down on the other before ordering a double rum and coke. She’s on her third sip when the door swings open and Echo walks in, looking even more beautiful than Anya remembers. She’s wearing tight blue jeans and a loose white tank top, completed by short boots and a demure gold necklace. Anya doesn’t realise that she’s staring until Echo is stood right in front of her, smirking down at Anya who seems stuck to her seat.

“Hey.”

Echo's voice pulls Anya out of her stupor, and she stumbles to her feet, a too-wide smile on her face as she tries to steady herself.

“Hey! Hi, hi.”

“You okay?” Echo laughs.

Anya's heart clenches. It’s been so long since she heard that laugh, and still it reverberates within her, tugging at a place in Anya's heart that she hasn’t allowed herself to visit in years.

“I’m fine,” she smiles, willing her heart to calm down as she pulls out the second stool for Echo.

“Nice outfit,” Echo says.

“Thanks,” Anya murmurs, glancing down at her black jumpsuit and Converses.

“So, what’re we having?”

“Hm?”

Echo levels a pointed look at Anya's drink.

“Oh! Rum and coke. Double.”

“Perfect. We’ll have two more,” she requests, the bartender responding with a smile and a nod.

“Two?”

“Yours is running pretty low.”

“Oh, you don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

Something passes between them, in Echo's fiery eyes and Anya's shaky breaths and the way their hands touch for a moment when Echo passes Anya her new drink.

“So,” Anya shuffles on her seat, “How’ve you been?”

This question seems to break the tension between them, and they find themselves sinking back into a place of familiarity as the conversation deepens and Anya realises she still doesn’t know why Echo has come back to their town.

“What’re you doing back here, then?”

“Our old school invited me, actually.”

“Really?”

“They want to start running workshops about female empowerment and they asked me to lead them.”

“Echo!” Anya beams. “That’s incredible.”

“Thanks,” she blushes, both women smiling as they take another drink.

Echo teases Anya when they discuss her studying Palaeontology at college – “You always were such a dinosaur nerd” – and Anya listens in awe as Echo tells her about her work with charities and her campaigns for women’s rights all over the country.

Then things take a turn when Echo mentions someone named Bellamy.

“Yeah, I remember you talking about him a little when you first moved away. He was assigned to show you around when you got to your new school, or something?”

Echo fiddles with her straw, eyebrows pulled together. “Yeah.”

“And?” Anya laughs, but the sound is jilted, awkward.

“We’re… we’ve been… he’s kind of my boyfriend, I guess?”

Anya's fingers clench around her glass. “Oh.”

Echo fidgets in her seat, watching Anya's chest flutter.

“I’m happy for you,” she mutters eventually.

“Thank you.”

 “No, really, I am.”

Echo meets Anya's gaze, sees the earnestness mixed in with a hint of sadness.

“Thanks, An.”

Echo quickly steers them onto other topics. And Anya pushes down her feelings, focusing on how happy she is to be reunited with someone she thought she’d never see again.

They stay in the bar for a few more hours, stumbling out at around 10pm with boozy smiles and loose tongues. Echo walks Anya home – the apartment she shares with Lexa is only a short distance away – and they walk arm-in-arm, Echo's fingers brushing against Anya's skin as she wraps her hand around the other girl’s wrist.

“I had a great time with you tonight,” Echo smiles around rum-soaked words.

“Me too,” Anya grins, ducking her head when Echo doesn’t stop smiling at her.

Then they reach Anya's apartment and Echo wraps her in a hug, warm breath hitting Anya's neck. Skin tingling, Anya pulls back first, hands resting on Echo's elbows.

“How long are you here for?”

“Indefinitely, actually.”

“Great! Great.”

“We should hang out more, now that I’m gonna be around for a while.”

“Sure,” Anya nods, ducking behind her curtain of hair.

“Nice to see some things never change” Echo chuckles, tucking a few strands behind Anya's ear.

“What?”

“You always used to hide in your hair whenever you were nervous.”

Their eyes meet and they can feel unspoken words floating between them.

“Anyway, I’d better get going.”

“Me too. Lexa’s probably wondering where I am.”

They hug again, both holding on for a little longer than necessary. Then Echo leaves and Anya leans against the door, bracing herself for the barrage of questions she knows is coming while trying to calm the stampede of butterflies in her chest.

* * *

 

Thus begins the slow reparation of Anya and Echo's relationship, and, along with that, Echo's eventual inclusion the group.

Luna and Raven are happy to hang out with Echo (as long as they can tease Anya about her, of course). Clarke is a little wary, mainly because she sees how Anya's walls completely come down around Echo (even if she herself doesn’t realise it). And Lexa… well, Lexa isn’t as forgiving as her sister, and can’t forget how she used to hear Anya crying through her bedroom wall after Echo left. So she affords Echo curt smiles and placative conversation, for now.

Meanwhile, Anya often finds herself overwhelmed by her feelings: happiness that Echo is back in her life, sadness that she lost her for so long; and something else. Something prickly and fuzzy that makes her head spin. And when she catches Echo looking at her sometimes, there’s something in the other woman’s eyes, something Anya thinks she recognises. But she doesn’t let herself linger on it for too long.

Then comes a day a few months later when they are invited to a house party at Murphy’s. Pre-drinks occur at Raven’s place, and after multiple shots and a rigorous game of Ring of Fire, they are stumbling to the party, blurry-eyed and slack-jawed already.

“Ladies,” Murphy nods, holding the door open as they all clatter in.

“Hellooooooo,” Raven slurs, slinging her arm around his shoulders. “You’re m’best friend, y’know that?”

“Yes, Raven, I know,” he chuckles, pointing her in the direction of the kitchen. “Help yourselves to drinks.”

“T—hanks,” Luna hiccups, chucking him under the chin before following Raven with a giggle.

“Hey, Murph,” Clarke smiles.

Lexa greets him with a wave, and his eyes meet hers briefly before sliding to Anya, and Echo, who is standing behind her.

“Anya,” he nods. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Echo,” she says, glancing back at the taller girl with a soft smile.

Murphy’s eyebrow raises slightly. He exchanges a knowing look with Lexa.

“Cool. Nice to meet you, Echo.”

“Likewise.”

Their chat is interrupted by a shout from across the room – “Murphy, why the fuck has the music stopped?!” – and he races off, leaving them on the outskirts of the party.

“Drink?” Anya offers.

Echo replies with a “Yes, please”, and they follow the path to the kitchen. They find Raven crouched in front of the countertop, a determined frown on her face.

“What’s she doing?”

“Trying to make the perfect mixture of vodka and orange,” Luna chuckles.

“And how’s that going?”

“This is her third try. And she already drank the first two attempts.”

Raven straightens up (well, more like wobbles up), tongue poking out comically from between her lips.

“I sw—swear,” she sways, “I will do this.”

“Sure thing, Ray,” Anya laughs, grabbing two plastic cups and a bottle of rum. “Come on”, she nudges Echo, leading her through the kitchen and out onto the quiet back porch.

All dark wood and intricate fairy lights, it’s a world away from the party that is raging on inside.

“Wow,” Echo breathes, her face flecked with twinkles from the lights.

“I know.”

Anya pours them both a generous amount of rum – “What, no mixer?” “I’m tougher than I was when we were sixteen, Echo.” – and they sip at the spicy liquid while perched on the porch steps.

Echo tilts her head back after a long drink, letting out a wistful sigh.

“I’d love to see space.”

Anya turns to her, a curious smile on her face. “You would?”

“Mhmm.”

“Then I’ll build a spaceship and take you someday.”

Echo meets Anya's gaze, a wobbly smile lighting up her face. “You’re on.”

The edges of Anya's vision start to blur a little as their eyes stay on each other.

(She’s not sure if it’s because of the alcohol or because of the way Echo is looking at her).

Then Echo shuffles over, the side of her body pressing into Anya's, whose breath hitches when she turns and Echo's face is only centimetres away from her own, their breaths mingling in the crisp night air.

“Echo…”

She responds by moving her head closer, their noses almost touching.

“Echo, what—”

She’s cut off by Echo's lips pressing against her own, soft and sloppy and laced with rum. Anya loses herself in the kiss, just for a moment, before pulling back with a jolt.

“You have a boyfriend.”

Echo's eyebrows raise.

“You have a boyfriend, and I… I can’t…” Anya's words are strangled and clipped.

“I lied.” Echo's voice is small, smaller than Anya has ever heard it before.

“You… what?”

“Bellamy isn’t my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”

Anya's eyes are wrought with confusion and intoxication. “Then why… I mean, I don’t understand…”

“I wanted to make you jealous.”

“You wanted to… why?” Anya crosses her arms over her chest. “Why would you want me to be jealous?”

Echo averts her gaze, staring down at the wooden boards below her feet. “I think you know why.”

“I need to hear you say it.” Anya is surprised by how steady her voice sounds, juxtaposing how violently her heart is beating.

Lips pressed together, Echo takes a deep breath. And then:

“I like you, Anya.”

Silence blankets them, the party noise drowned out by the buzzing in their ears.

“I’ve liked you for a really long time, actually. And leaving you… that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

Anya fidgets a little, pressing her shoulder gently into Echo's – a sign for her to continue speaking.

“The reason I stopped talking to you was because it hurt too much. It hurt being so far away from the one person I wanted to be closest to.”

Anya wishes she could be angry. She wishes she could take Echo's words and throw them back in her face and make her feel as shitty as Anya did when she left. But she looks at Echo and sees the tears trickling down her cheeks, sees the way her hands shake just like she did when she got into trouble with her father all those years ago. And she can’t bring herself to add to the hurt in Echo's eyes.

“Echo?”

“Mhmm?”

“It’s okay.”

“I—you’re not mad?”

Anya lets out a soft laugh. “Believe me, I was.”

Echo's face falls a little.

“But how can I be now, when you’re back home and things are so… I’m just happy to have you here with me.”

“You have every right to still be angry, y’know.”

“I know. And maybe I’ll get my revenge someday,” Anya smirks, laughing when Echo replies with an exaggerated gasp.

She reaches up and wipes at Echo's tears, letting her fingertips linger on soft skin for a moment before taking Echo's hand.

“Come on, you. Let’s go see what antics we’re missing out on.”

Hands still linked, they re-enter the party. Luna is draped across Raven’s lap on the sofa, while Clarke and Lexa are sloppily making out in Murphy’s armchair. The rest of the partygoers are milling around, talking and knocking back drinks to the tune of Teenage Dirtbag blasting out over the speakers.

“Anyaaaaa!” Luna smiles.

The others greet them with limp waves and boozy smiles.

“Oh my god, f’cking finally,” Lexa slurs, watching as Anya and Echo walk across the room together and claim a giant beanbag. “Hey, Clarke. You owe me ten dollars.”

“S—shit,” Clarke hiccups, giggling as she falls sideways and burrows her face into Lexa’s stomach.

“What are you on about?” Anya sighs.

“We made a bet t’see when you two would get t’gether,” Lexa grins, doing a sloppy fist pump as Raven and Luna prop themselves up on the sofa. “And I wonnn!”

“S’going on?” Raven mumbles.

“The bet!” Lexa gestures with her eyebrows at Anya and Echo cuddling on the beanbag, who look seconds away from murdering someone or bursting into laughter, respectively.

“Ohhhh! Means I won too. Sorry, babe,” Luna smirks, planting a kiss on Raven’s cheek.

“Is everyone in on this except us?” Anya grumbles, pulling her knees up to her chest with a huff.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Fuckers.”

The conversation changes direction when a very drunk Murphy falls the floor beside them, attempting to do the worm and not spill his drink at the same time. With the rest of the group distracted, Echo wraps her arm around Anya's waist, pulling her closer to whisper in her ear:

“Y’know, something good has come out of this stupid bet.”

“Oh?” Anya tries to ignore the way her skin tingles when Echo begins stroking circles on her hipbone. “And what’s that?”

“I got to see the adorable face you pull when you’re grumpy,” Echo grins.

Anya's cheeks flush flamingo-pink. “You’re so lame.”

“Says the woman who once ran around my dad’s grocery store dressed as the flying car from Harry Potter.”

“It was Halloween!”

“Hey, lovebirds!” Raven calls, slumping off the sofa and onto the carpeted floor. “Never Have I Ever. You’re playing.”

“Do we have a choice?” Echo says.

“Not really.”

“Great.”

The game goes ahead without much of a hitch – there’s a slightly awkward moment when “Never have I ever hooked up with multiple people in this room” comes up and Raven takes a drink with averted eyes, earning a glare from Luna and an embarrassed laugh from Clarke – “We were drunk!” “It was before we became friends!” – but then the night dissolves back into laughter and smiles, until Murphy can no longer form coherent words and Luna declares that it may be time for them to go home.

“You good?” Lexa murmurs, taking Anya by the elbow as they walk towards the front door.

“Yeah, Lex. I’m good.”

“You wanna walk back with me and Clarke?”

Anya glances at Echo, who is lingering on the front porch. “I’m gonna make sure Echo gets home safely.”

A smirk appears on Lexa’s face. “Mhmm.”

“What?! I’m just gonna walk her home.”

“Sure. Text me to let me know if you won’t be home tonight.”

“Lexa.”

“Have fun!” Lexa winks, taking Clarke’s hand after saying goodbye to the others and walking out into the muggy 3am air.

“Shall we?” Anya motions to Echo.

“Yeah.”

They say their own goodbyes, Murphy bidding Anya goodnight with a pat on the head and some floppy finger guns. The walk back to Echo's is quiet, punctuated by the gentle sounds of cicadas and the occasional hum of tyres rolling by. They stop outside Echo's apartment, Echo taking hold of Anya's hands and gazing down at her with a look in her eyes, a look that makes Anya's throat dry.

Then Echo leans down and their lips meet, and Anya can’t believe how good it feels.

They share a kiss under the soft glow of the stars, and Anya's hand cups Echo's face and Echo's fingers grip Anya's hips, and it feels like late snowflakes settling on a lush forest floor in spring.

And when Echo surprises Anya by taking her hand and leading her inside, and they fall onto the bed, hands caressing and exploring while their lips continue to touch, it feels like ice melting into the earth, soft and inviting and warm.

And when hours have passed and quick gasps have slowed to deep breaths and they lie tangled up in each other, Anya's eyes crack open to see the moon shining in through the window, bathing the room in a silver light that looks like a frozen lake in December thawing out to reveal a thrum of life beneath the surface.

Then Echo buries her face into Anya's neck and kisses her collarbone, and Anya can’t think about the snow anymore because the only thing on her mind is the softness of Echo's lips and how grounded she feels in her arms as they fall asleep.


End file.
